After more door styles than I care to admit, this one is finished — and it’s in the store.
This walnut record credenza has been a long time coming. Not because the case or the base gave me any trouble, but because of one deceptively simple question I kept circling back to: what happens at the doors? The doors are the face of a piece like this. They’re the first thing your eye lands on, and they set the mood for everything around them. So I built version after version in my head — and a few on the bench — before I finally landed on the answer.
Finding the right door
Every iteration came down to contrast. I didn’t want a boring monotone piece where the doors disappear into the frame and the whole thing reads as one flat wash of brown. But I also didn’t want doors that scream at you the second you walk into the room. I wanted something in between — a subtle contrast that makes you look twice without shouting for attention.
Walnut burl turned out to be exactly that. Set against the calm, straight-grained walnut of the top and frame, the burl brings a swirl of movement and figure that catches the light and rewards a closer look. It’s warm. It has drama. But it’s a quiet kind of drama — the kind that grows on you over years of living with it, not the kind that wears you out by next week. That balance is what I was after the whole time.
The piece itself
Here’s what you’re looking at:
• Solid walnut base and frame, built to last generations
• Book-matched walnut top
• Walnut burl door fronts on soft-close doors
• Turned walnut-and-brass pulls
• An open center bay sized for a turntable, with records and gear tucked into the compartments on either side
• 48”L × 19”D × 21”H
It’s designed to be lived with — a real home for a record collection and the ritual that goes with it, made to still be in the family long after the rest of us have moved on.
Want something louder? Let’s talk.
Subtle was my choice for this one. It doesn’t have to be yours.
If you want a bold, high-contrast statement instead, give me a call. I can build this same credenza with maple burl for a far louder contrast — pale, bright figure against the dark walnut, impossible to miss. Or we can take it somewhere else entirely with a hand-cut marquetry door: an inlaid design, worked piece by piece into a one-of-a-kind pattern that’s yours alone. That’s the beauty of custom work — the piece bends to you, not the other way around.
This is just the first version
I have a strong feeling this credenza is going to be built a lot of different ways down the road — different woods, different door treatments, different sizes to fit different rooms and different collections. This walnut burl version is where the design starts, not where it ends.
Come take a look
The credenza is in the store now, and I’d love for you to see it. Photos are one thing, but burl really has to be seen in person to understand what the fuss is about.
Go take a look — and if you know someone who loves custom furniture, send them this way. Word of mouth from people who appreciate the work means more to a one-person shop than any ad ever could.
Anderson Woodwork
Custom, heirloom-quality furniture — Yelm, WA, serving the South Sound
Call or text: (360) 259-0232 · andersonwoodwork.net · A.woodworks@hotmail.com